Sermons by Phil Pike

The Secret to Restoring a Nation

Date: February 19, 2023

What would you say is the first and most important step required to get any nation back on track? Fix the economy, strengthen the military, rebuild the infrastructure? Those things have their place, but none of them have the power to turn a nation around. Nothing will ever change for the better until God is given His rightful place in the hearts of believers again, and until God is given His rightful place in the church again… and it could all begin with you! Are you willing to humbly offer yourself to God as the starting place for revival in your family, your church, your community and your nation?

How Will You Be Remembered When You Die?

Date: February 12, 2023

Every day we live, every choice we make, every thought we think and word we speak, we are making contributions to the legacy that we will leave behind after we die. Out of all the kings who reigned over Jerusalem, king Ahaz is remembered for being the worst of them all. Why? Because he lived a sinful life and led the people away from God… and 2,700 years later, his wicked legacy still lives on! Ahaz was given every opportunity to live for God and do what was right, but he repeatedly chose to go his own way, and in the end he wrecked his own life and destroyed the entire nation. God has promised that anyone who rejects Him will eventually come to ruin, but those who obey and trust Him will be blessed. If you honestly evaluate your own life right now, what kind of legacy do you think you’re writing? Choose today to live for God, and leave a legacy that will bring glory to Him!

Saying Yes to a Costly Call

Date: January 22, 2023

God called Isaiah to spend the rest of his life preaching to a rebellious nation, and was told that no one would listen to his message. That was a difficult assignment! God also calls us to step out and obey Him in various ways throughout our life, and those calls are seldom convenient or easy. Saying yes to God always comes with a cost. It requires laying aside our own desires and plans, and even being willing to suffer and die, if necessary. The call may be hard, but there is no safer, more rewarding place to be than right where God is leading you! Will you be ready to answer God’s calls when they come?

Alive for a Reason

Date: January 15, 2023

Do you ever wonder why you’re here on this earth; why God is keeping you alive, and whether or not there is really any purpose to it all? Yes, the daily grind of life can sometimes feel like a pointless, monotonous routine, but the fact is, there’s much more to this life—to your life—than meets the eye. Regardless of who you are, where you live, your education, your occupation or your level of influence, you are still living and breathing for one reason: God has an assignment for you! You were saved, not as the final step in your spiritual journey, but as the first step to a mission God has created for you to carry out. Wherever God has placed you, He wants you to be a living testimony for Him right there, touching others with His love and pointing them to Him. The only question is, are you willing to accept your assignment and faithfully carry it out?

Stop Treating God Casually!

Date: January 8, 2023

God has been so trivialized in our modern culture that even His name is used as a common curse word! But here’s a sobering truth: What we truly think of God is so absolutely critical that it literally shapes everything we say and do, and it will ultimately determine the outcome of our lives. So, pause for a minute and ask yourself honestly, “What do I really think of God?” Both Isaiah and Job loved and respected God, but the instant they were given a glimpse of His blazing holiness and terrifying power, they fell to their knees in repentance, and their lives were never the same again. May God give us a genuine vision of Himself that will burn away our casual view of Him and forever transform us to worship Him in the fear and reverence He deserves.

Does Our Worship Please God?

Date: January 1, 2023

If God gave us a worship checkup, how well would we do on that test? Our worship services may attract big crowds, may be exciting, and may even be the talk of the town… but does our worship actually please God? After all, His opinion is the only one that counts! Are we worshipping from the heart or simply out of routine? Are we worshipping with sin in our lives and assuming it doesn’t matter? Our worship is a direct reflection of the condition of our heart, so let’s ask God to show us what it really looks like through His eyes, and then be willing to surrender anything that is hindering us from offering pure worship to Him.

The Comfort of the Incarnation

Date: December 18, 2022

The good news of Christmas is for those who are tired of seeing sin and bad news everywhere, especially in themselves. It’s easy to become weighed down and discouraged by the constant battles of this life, but having the assurance that—because Christ came the first time, He is most certainly coming again—fills us with comfort and hope. We can look beyond the unrest that we see around us and that we sometimes see within us, and we can be comforted by the guaranteed promise of His return and the eternal life that awaits all those who have trusted in Him as their Savior! Do you have this comfort today?

The Cost of the Incarnation

Date: December 11, 2022

Imagine how shocked we would be to hear that all the world’s richest, most powerful people had abandoned their fortunes and moved into the worst part of town without even a penny to their name! We simply couldn’t imagine anyone doing that, and yet, someone actually did. When Jesus came to earth to rescue mankind from sin, He had to lay aside His glory and splendor, and He had to exchange His royal title as the Son of God to be called a lowly Son of man. He lived a life of poverty, ridicule and rejection, and in the end was put to death like a criminal. It cost Him everything to die for us… is it costing us anything to live for Him?

The Mystery of the Incarnation

Date: December 4, 2022

As we celebrate Christmas, let’s remember that there is something far more important than that baby in the manger, the shepherds in the fields and the wisemen bringing gifts. The fact is, if that baby wasn’t truly the Son of God in the flesh, then all those events are meaningless. Some religions say that Jesus was nothing more than a good teacher, but how can we prove otherwise? Is there a reason why the only one who could forgive sins and redeem fallen man had to be both fully God and fully man? Join us for today’s message as we explore the most important doctrine in the entire Bible — the Incarnation of Christ.

Desperate for Jesus

Date: November 27, 2022

In our culture of platform building and rising celebrity status, we forget that Jesus values the least. He places honor on the poor, the broken, the messy, and the marginalized. Lepers in Jesus’ day were outcasts of society. They had absolutely no status and were looked down on as untouchables. Yet, when Jesus encountered 10 lepers pleading for help, He treasured each one of them, heard their cries, and healed them. All of us can identify with those lepers more than we may realize. Our lives have been eaten away by sin and we desperately need Jesus to cleanse us. Are you desperate enough to call out to Him for help and receive the healing He offers?

The Hope that God’s Judgement Brings

Date: November 6, 2022

As God’s children we sometimes choose to disregard His commands and go our own way. If we continue to ignore His calls to repent, He will send discipline into our life to correct us, like any good parent would do. Feeling God’s discipline is never pleasant and it might even make us think that He doesn’t love us anymore, but the one who is disciplining us is the same loving Father who is always working for our good. If you’ve been away from God and feeling the sting of His chastisement, come back to Him today. Behind the dark clouds of God’s judgement is the sunshine of forgiveness and hope!

Are God’s Judgements Fair?

Date: October 30, 2022

Some people think that God is being unfair when He dispenses justice and judgement, yet they also think it’s unfair when justice and judgement are not handed down to someone who has wronged them. God has put certain unbreakable physical laws in place, and He has also put immutable spiritual laws in place… break either of them and you will suffer the inevitable consequences. Is there something you feel that God has been unfair about? Always remember that His law is perfect and His judgements are always right, even if it doesn’t feel that way. Be assured that you can trust Him, regardless of how things look today.